In which I'm answering reader questions
A few of you have left questions you didn't get a chance to ask during last week's radio interview, so here goes!
Reader Dan included the following in his email and my answers are in italics:
1. I still miss Emma, the yellow wonder dog. Me too. But Deacon is a sweetheart, and a most excellent furry companion.
2. Since Hector is more in my age bracket, I can identify with him and wish you'd put a little spice into his life, if just for a paragraph or two. Hector is going to be pretty prominent in the fifth Julia Grey book--hang on!
3. Loved the "twist" you pulled with Lucy, Emma, and Sir. Cedrick. Why thank you--it was a difficult book to write, but it's one of my favorites.
4. Would like to see a map in one of your books showing where everyone lived in relation to each other and the London landmarks. I made one for my own use when I first started working on Silent in the Grave. That would make a great addition to the website--I just have to find a freelance cartographer!
5. When everyone took the train to Yorkshire, what station did they leave from? I used a railway map from the time and charted out a journey for them that would have taken them into the West Riding out of Euston Station. Alternatively, I could have taken them into York and then turned them west on branch lines. The distance would have been about the same, but I liked the less expected route. The Marches seldom do the conventional!
6. Would like to see Val and Dr.Bent explore some of the medical developments that were taking place in the Victorian Era. Doctors--or medical students, midwives, Gypsy healers, etc.--are all entirely useful characters because they can provide medical information that a layman might not know. But I am careful in how I use them for a variety of reasons. First, the medical issues take a tremendous amount of time and research to make sure that not only do I understand the science behind them but that I understand them in their historical context. Second, it is very easy to let the medical details take over and for every reader who loves the medical stuff, there's another who doesn't!
Reader Dan included the following in his email and my answers are in italics:
1. I still miss Emma, the yellow wonder dog. Me too. But Deacon is a sweetheart, and a most excellent furry companion.
2. Since Hector is more in my age bracket, I can identify with him and wish you'd put a little spice into his life, if just for a paragraph or two. Hector is going to be pretty prominent in the fifth Julia Grey book--hang on!
3. Loved the "twist" you pulled with Lucy, Emma, and Sir. Cedrick. Why thank you--it was a difficult book to write, but it's one of my favorites.
4. Would like to see a map in one of your books showing where everyone lived in relation to each other and the London landmarks. I made one for my own use when I first started working on Silent in the Grave. That would make a great addition to the website--I just have to find a freelance cartographer!
5. When everyone took the train to Yorkshire, what station did they leave from? I used a railway map from the time and charted out a journey for them that would have taken them into the West Riding out of Euston Station. Alternatively, I could have taken them into York and then turned them west on branch lines. The distance would have been about the same, but I liked the less expected route. The Marches seldom do the conventional!
6. Would like to see Val and Dr.Bent explore some of the medical developments that were taking place in the Victorian Era. Doctors--or medical students, midwives, Gypsy healers, etc.--are all entirely useful characters because they can provide medical information that a layman might not know. But I am careful in how I use them for a variety of reasons. First, the medical issues take a tremendous amount of time and research to make sure that not only do I understand the science behind them but that I understand them in their historical context. Second, it is very easy to let the medical details take over and for every reader who loves the medical stuff, there's another who doesn't!
Comments
Wow! Thank you, Deanna.
Wow! Thank you, Deanna.